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William G. Weist

Publications and source records attributed to William G. Weist.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1979

Regional geohydrology of the San Juan hydrologic basin of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah

The San Juan Basin in the southeastern part of the Colorado Plateau, southwest of the San Juan Mountains, broadly includes the Acoma and Gallup Sags in its southern part and the small Chama Basin in its northeastern part. Regionally, the water-yielding strata (aquifers) dip inward toward the center of San Juan Basin or toward the axes of the adjoining structural sags. Aquifers exposed or at shallow depths along the margin of the basin are deeply buried in the center of the basin. The occurrence and movement of ground water is strongly influenced by the structural configuration of the basin; fractures along joints and faults, particularly the Puerco fault belt; distribution and lithology of the rock strata, and the relationship of the uplands recharge areas of the aquifers to the lowland areas where the most ground-water discharges. The aggregate thickness of sedimentary rocks is more than 10,000 feet in the deepest part of the basin. In order of decreasing abundance, these rocks consist of mudstone, claystone, siltstone, sandstone, silty sandstone, coal, limestone, conglomerate, and gypsum. The main aquifers consist of sandstone or sandstone containing lenses of conglomerate except for the San Andres Limestone. The principal aquifers, listed in descending stratigraphic order, are the Tertiary Cuba Mesa and Llaves Members of the San Jose Formation and the Ojo Alamo Sandstone; the Pictured Cliffs, Cliff House, Point Lookout, Gallup, and Dakota Sandstones; the Westwater Canyon and Salt Wash Sandstone Members of the Morrison Formation, the Cow Springs Sandstone, the Zuni Sandstone, and the Entrada Sandstone; and the San Andres Limestone, Glorieta Sandstone, and De Chelly Sandstone. These aquifer are separated by formations, that do not readily transmit water between the aquifers. Regional movement of ground water is mainly to the San Juan and Chaco s Rivers, the Puerco River, the Rio Puerco, and their main tributaries. Ground water from aquifers overlying the Dakota Sandstone discharge within the confines of the San Juan hydrologic basin. Part of the ground water in the Dakota Sandstone, Morrison Formation, and underlying formations moves across the interbasin divide into the Black Mesa, the Blanding Basin, or to the Rio Grande Trough.

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah↗
USGS1978

Summary appraisals of the nation's ground-water resources – Great Lakes region

The Great Lakes Regions, as a whole, has abundant supplies of water. Nearly 805,000 billion cubic feet of water is contained in the Great Lakes. An additional 35,000 billion cubic feet of potable ground water is available from storage in the region. Estimated ground-water discharge to the streams and lakes of the region is 26 billion gallons per day. Despite this abundance of water, the United States part of the Great Lakes basin is faced with many water-related problems, most of which involve water quality and water supply. Other problems concern periods of low flow in streams, preservation of wetlands, detrimental effects of erosion, and flooding. The significance of ground water in these problems is often overlooked. Ground water can be an alternative to surface water as a source of supply, or it can be used conjunctively with surface water to provide flexibility in water-supply management. Ground water supplied approximately 1,800 million gallons per day of the 39,900 million gallons. per day used in the Great Lakes Region in 1970. The ground-water contribution was only 4.5 percent of the water used. Thus, ground water represents a potential source of supply for much of the region. It also can be used, where conditions permit, to maintain lake levels and flow in streams, to dilute poor quality surface water, and to maintain or create wetlands and ponds. In managing water resources, ground water and surface water should be considered parts of a single system. Management includes not only planning and controlling the development but also monitoring the effects of this development. Recent advances in ground-water hydrology have provided methods to resolve some of the development and management questions that formerly slowed the development of ground water. All of the States in the Great Lakes Region have some regulations to control the development or protect the quality of the ground water. These regulations, however, are not as comprehensive as those governing surface water. Future legislation could be designed to encourage the development of ground water and, at the same time, to protect the resource. Efficient development and management of ground-water resources requires a through knowledge of the system. Reports on ground water are available for about 80 percent of tbe Great Lakes Region. Most of these reports, however, are not sufficiently detailed to be useful in comprehensive planning. As ground-water development continues, quantitative groundwater studies, utilizing models as predictive tools, will enable this development to proceed in an efficient manner.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, ↗
USGS1963

Water in the Dakota and Purgatoire Formations in Otero County and the southern part of Crowley County, Colorado

The hardness of available shallow ground water in Otero County and in the southern part of Crowley County generally exceeds 1,000 parts per million, and the water requires treatment for most uses. To obtain a supply of softer water, wells have been drilled into the Dakota Sandstone and the Cheyenne Sandstone Member of the Purgatoire Formation, both Early Cretaceous in age. These aquifers underlie most of ,the area at depths from 0 to 2,000 feet and have a general regional dip northward into the Denver Basin. More than 50 wells have been drilled into the aquifers in this area to obtain water for stock, domestic, and industrial purposes and for public supply. The aquifers are recharged in areas where they crop out or are overlain by sand, principally to the south and west of Otero County. Because water in the aquifers is generally under pressure, it rises above the top of the aquifer in wells penetrating it; at least 20 wells in the area flow. Yields from wells tapping the aquifers range from 4 to 75 gpm (gallons per minute). Flows as great as 50 gpm have been obtained. Water in the aquifers is commonly soft and of good chemical quality. There appears to be little difference in quality of water from the two aquifers. Most residents and drillers know that soft water can be obtained from wells throughout most of the area described in this report, but many are not aware of certain factors related to the development of this water. This report should be of value in further developing the sources of soft water by showing: (a) The approximate depth of a well needed to tap these supplies, (b) the range in yields that may be expected, (c) the range in chemical quality that may be expected, (d) the depth to which water will rise in wells, and (e) information on the factors affecting the durability of the supply.

Water Supply Paper↗